Air Travel in the 1960s

In the '60s, most of my air travel was between San Juan (SJU) and New York (IDL/JFK). We generally flew on either Pan Am (707-120s and 720-020s) or Eastern (DC-8-20s). Occasionally we flew on Trans Caribbean (also DC-8s).

I remember ample leg room (equivalent to "economy comfort" on some of today's airlines), full meal service in coach (first with real silverware and dishes, later on plastic), and cabin crews consisting entirely of younger women. (The recent "Pan Am" TV series depicted all of this fairly accurately.)

Of course, airfares were regulated then, and coach (Y-class) was what today would be considered "full fare" coach and thus quite expensive by today's standards. In the mid-'60s, this was one of the first routes to introduce "jet thrift" (K-class) fares, which were the predecessors of today's super-saver fares. I remember the original K-class fare between SJU and JFK was $55, which would be about $400 today, still rather pricey.

SJU still hadn't gotten jetways by 1968, when we left, so all our boarding was done the old-fashioned way: walk out on the ramp and climb the stairs, which were usually on the back of a truck. Luggage carousels came along in the early '60s, which saved much time when retrieving luggage. (Remember that overhead bins were still in the future; the aircraft had open racks designed for sweaters and purses.) Nearly all luggage was checked, aside from train cases and attache cases, which fit under the seat, and all the aircraft had coat closets.

 

This is what comes to mind when I think of air travel in the '60s.

 

Mostly I flew in Europe in the sixties, in turboprops like the Viscount. Either British Airways or one of the other national airlines. I remember that airline tickets were laboriously written out by hand and that the boarding pass was too, quite often. When boarding, you walked to the foot of the stairs leading up to the passenger door, come rain or shine. Seats were not always numbered, so there would be a scramble as the stairs got closer, with passengers running to be first on board and bag their chosen seats.

Gatorrari's vivid description tells you more than I remember about life inside during the flight.

Outside of Europe, the British national airline (state-owned) was B.A.O.C. (British Overseas Airways Corporation), which I flew occasionally to America. Otherwise it was TWA and P. I remember taking a Jumbo jet from New York to London two weeks after the service started, on Pan Am, who beat the competition to get theirs first. Back in the UK, I enjoyed fleeting fame as one who had flown a 747 before any of my friends.

 

One thing I remember about seat selection, at least between SJU and JFK. When you checked in at the ticket counter (always standard procedure in those days), they would have a seat map of the airplane with the individual seats denoted by stickers. When you selected your seats, they would take the stickers off the map and put them on your ticket folder.

I never flew any propliner, either piston or turboprop, until regional airlines came along many years later, when I flew a Brasilia and a Dash-8. (In fact the only piston-powered aircraft I've ever flown in were a Bell 47, a Cherokee Six and a Cessna 172!)

 

I did a lot of flying as a young kid in the 60s. My first ever flight was from (I think) LaGuardia to Sarasota on an Eastern Airlines Lockheed Electra in either '59 or '60. That was before they fixed the problem of the wings falling off.

After that, we moved to Europe, and did a number of transatlantic flights over the next four years. The first was Montreal to London on a BOAC 707 in 1961. We flew Swissair Geneva to New York a few times on Convair 990 and DC-8, and London to New York on a BOAC Vickers VC-10. The latter impressed me greatly with its serene smoothness and silence in the cabin. It was also the first flight I was on that featured a movie. I still remember that it was The Ipcress File with Michael Caine. That pegs the year as 1965.

 

I blew my only chance to fly a Convair jet. In 1973, I was returning to Miami from a trip to Columbus, OH, and I had a choice of two Delta flights that were, unaccountably, less than an hour apart. I chose a DC-9 flight over a Convair 880 (which had mere months of service remaining) and I've regretted that ever since!

 

Wild guess, Southwest Airlines ?????

 

I can't guess the airline but the airplane is a Boeing 707 or 720. One can see the Passenger Service Units mounted on the stowage shelf in the background.
I remember flying on a 707-320 NWAL Combi in the early 60's when lunch was served on a tray with metal eating utensils and a plate with steak and red wine on the side.

 

Because the uniforms are generic, my guess is that it's a Boeing publicity shot rather than a specific airline's.

 

I take that back. The service cart bears the initials PAA.

 

Yep. Pan Am.

 

PAA implies that this cart probably pre-dates the jets. While the airline changed its name in 1950 to Pan American World Airways, the aircraft still carried the "PAA" logo on the tail until the "blue globe" scheme came along at the start of the jet age.

Eventually the "blue globe" scheme was used throughout the fleet, even on DC-3s!

 

Interesting, Jim. No point in ditching the carts if they're still serviceable. They built stuff to last back in those days.

 

I'm guessing my sarcasm isnt understood on f-chat

 

Yeah, I wondered about that. No orange hot pants.

 

An aunt, or some other relative died back when I was a kid. They were in Chicago and we lived in San diego. My mom and I were going to the funeral, kind of last minute thing(Jews get the body in the ground fast) and we would be taking a jet airplane there and back. I was maybe 8, and I recall getting a new shirt for the trip. A button down the front collared shirt! My pants were creased, my shoes were fairly shiny, and I had on my new button down the front collared shirt for my flight. Note that this shirt was not for the funeral or shiva after because I didn't go to those, I got the button down the front collared shirt for my First Jet Airplane Ride.

I recalled this a few months ago when I was on a SWA flight to Houston. The girl next to me had on something like a thin midriff shirt with a few straps over the shoulder. The bra straps were clearly visible. Denim shorts, and some kind of multi-strap arrangement for footwear. Plenty of piercings and artwork was on full display. Yep - I kind of missed my new button down the front collared shirt of old.

 

The plastic grocery bag is the official carryon of SWA (especially during the summer travel season).

 

I flew (as a pax) quite a few interesting airplanes in the 60s. I rememeber this Breguet double decker in the early '60s flying to and from Corsica and this car carrying Bristol flying mom's Renault Dauphine, mom and I to the UK and back.

I flew on-boards many Caravelles (intra Europe), a DC-8-62 (Across the Atlantique), a 707-320B Intercontinental also over the Atlantic and TAROM's Ilyushin Il-18 on a flight back to Paris.
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That is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I vaguely remember it from years ago and I know now why I forgot it.

 

I first flew in an aircraft in 1954. Vickers Viscount from London to Paris, They were operated by BEA,(british european airways),while BOAC handled the more long haul routes. The Viscount remains as the most commercially successful british product,with 444 being built. It was the first turboprop in service in the world, 4X RR Dart motors..also has possibly the finest safety record. One or two are still flying. Not very long ago,a Viscount approaching Exeter in UK,ran out of fuel about a mile short of the runway. The pilot put it down in a cornfield,and everyone walked away. Thats what you call a perfect forced landing !Gorgeous aeroplane.

 

Not the 60's but in South africa early 70's(same as 50's usa) we regularily felw to hong Kong on BOAC VC10's. They took off in Johannesburg and refueled in the seychelles and Sri lanka on the way.

As a little kid so probably 68 or 69 I rememebr being let into the cockpit of a SAA 707, one of those inprinted memories. We were going Johannesburg to cape town, imagine a 707 for a 2 hr flight. The copilot turned a knob on the panel and the whole plane turned.

The best flights though were on 747 Sp from NY to Johnessburg early 80s. You could sit in the cockpit for hous chatting witht he crew, the view of the stars through that big cockpit side window somewhere over the south atlantic was epic.

Still these days if you get to travel busness or frist on a good airline like BA you get a lie flat bed and a great selcion of movies to watch. If you go cathay its 17 hrs from Ny to Hk and pure luxury so goo you dont want the flight to end.

IMO long haul travel has imesuarbly improved.

Domestic travel sucks, even buses in the 60s were better than the experience we have now. And domestic airlines like delta on long haul etc suck so bad in comarison
to pretty much any decent foreign carrier that I realise the USA has a long way to go before its truly a competitive global entity..

Saw a few viscouts converted to freight flying around africa int he 90's, now 727's do this type of run. Saw a DC4 in Botswana last week.

Those oldies are still out there.

 

I remember when Continental Airlines started flying the Viscount into Albuquerque. I was a child.

They had full-page ads in the Albuquerque newspaper showing a couple balancing a quarter on edge on the tray table during a flight to show how smooth the turboprops were.

Couldn't do that with piston engines flailing away on a TWA Connie (another gorgeous airplane).

 

Tcar, the Viscount sold well in the States,perhaps the first British product to do so. May I just take a line to tell you ,following my flight from London to Paris,arriving at the airport of Le Bor. guet. From here ,you transfered by bus into central Paris terminal. Onward internal flights were from Orly,to the south of the city. My ticket was with Air France Paris-Bordeaux.,but once inside the terminal,I had no idea what to do,or where to go. Eventually found someone to help. I had missed the bus to Orly,and therefore the flight. A car was arranged,and was driven to a military airfield somewhere locally. I was the last person to board a DC 6 of Royal Air Maroc,who were transporting 100 fully loaded soldiers to the war in Africa. There was to be a refueling stop at Bordeaux. Particularly remember the aircraft,fully laden building up revs before releasing the brakes. The engine ports were all open,and the exhaust manifolds were glowing red hot. Fantastic....I was only 12 years old at the time,what could be more exciting than that !!

 

I used to see the BWIA Viscounts in San Juan back in the '60s. Back then, BWIA used the same color scheme as BOAC with just different letters.

Later, Caribair re-engined their Convair twins with Darts, so we heard a lot of those engines!